The West Bank, a region marked by enduring conflict and occupation, is both a site of environmental extraction and human exploitation. Palestinian communities face daily challenges as their lands, resources, and labor are appropriated for the benefit of Israeli settlers and the Israeli state. This presentation will explore these intertwined forms of extraction, focusing on the destruction of natural resources—such as water, land, and agriculture—as well as the systemic extraction of Palestinian lives through displacement, labor exploitation, and militarized control.
Drawing from the works of Shourideh C. Molavi and Manal Shaqair, this presentation will analyze the exploitation of the West Bank's natural resources, particularly water and agricultural land, under Israeli policies of occupation and settler-colonialism. The recent surge in Israeli settler violence and the expropriation of Palestinian villages since October 7, along with the 2025 Ceasefire Deal, have had devastating effects on Palestinian agriculture and self-sufficiency. Using Molavi’s theoretical framework on extractivism and its environmental impacts, the presentation will examine how the land is not only physically extracted for economic gain but also stripped of its ability to sustain Palestinian communities.
The presentation will focus on research regarding the experiences of Palestinian farmers and families, emphasizing how the occupation limits Palestinian mobility, autonomy, and control over resources. Personal testimonies from Palestinian farmers will illustrate the regular uprooting of crops, destruction, forced displacement from native farmlands, and restrictions on access to water, electricity, and transportation.
In response to these forms of extraction, the presentation will highlight various forms of resistance, including nonviolent protests, grassroots efforts to restore agricultural land, and cross-religious dialogue and solidarity work aimed at protecting Palestinian communities. Israeli settler colonialism weaponizes a particular form of Judaism to justify occupation and extraction, and Palestinian Muslims and Christians have primarily been seen as victims of these activities. However, we need to be open to how cross and trans-religious connections, conversations and communities can break free of these stereoptyped roles and work against occupation and extraction. The role of international solidarity movements, environmental justice organizers, and scholars will also be discussed in this context, underscoring their importance in supporting both local and global Palestinian efforts for liberation.
Key Questions Addressed:
- How does the extraction of resources in the West Bank serve as a tool of settler-colonial control and economic exploitation?
- In what ways does Israeli occupation extract not only land and natural resources but also the agency and dignity of Palestinians?
- What are the environmental consequences of extraction on Palestinian communities, particularly in terms of agriculture and water rights?
- How do Palestinians resist both environmental and human extraction? What role do grassroots movements and international solidarity play in these efforts?
- How does religion both support occupation and extraction of people and lands and also how can it be used to counter these phenomena?
- What can religious, environmental, and human rights scholars learn from the experiences of Palestinian resistance in the West Bank?
This presentation will explore the multifaceted processes of extraction in the West Bank, examining the ways in which both natural resources and human lives are exploited under occupation. Drawing from the works of Shourideh C. Molavi and Manal Shaqair, as well as firsthand testimonies from Palestinian activists, farmers, and scientists, the paper will analyze how Israeli settler-colonialism functions not only through the physical extraction of land and resources, but also through the extraction of Palestinian agency and dignity. Through a combination of critical scholarship and personal narratives, this proposal will highlight the environmental, social, and political dimensions of extraction in the West Bank, and how Palestinian communities resist and challenge these processes.